How did you decide DVC was worth the money?

[AndriaRose]

There's standard financial math, which should be taken into account. But for some personality types there can be another simple math equation:

Vacation Club = Vacation. No vacation club = no vacation.

Certainly one should make certain its a financially sound decision for their family. But for some families (Hmm.. like mine ), vacations can just not happen. Too busy, don't take the time, too hard to co-ordinate time off. Forgot? Avoidance. ... Oh, gee, sorry dear I'm soooo busy at work, you go visit your mom without me. (Jeez, when I look back its kinda shocking how many years I just didn't go on any vacation once DD out grew family time).

DVC motivated me to ... bother with vacations again. Yes, I made sure DVC was within our budget, but I didn't compare it to other vacation choices. Kinda hard to beat the price of just not taking time off work. So the "worth it" answer comes from a different place.

Am I saving money? Not even Is it worth it? Yes, its worth it. Twice DH & I have taken DGD, and have wonderful, priceless memories. Once we sent the DD, paid all her expenses, kept DGD with us, and let DD have a carefree trip where she got to do all the fast rides she missed as a little girl. Coming up I have a quiet, relaxing trip planned for just the two of us. And I have so many more years yet to plan for. To me, that's the value of DVC.

 

[Inkmahm]

Am I saving money? Not even Is it worth it? Yes, its worth it. Twice DH & I have taken DGD, and have wonderful, priceless memories. Once we sent the DD, paid all her expenses, kept DGD with us, and let DD have a carefree trip where she got to do all the fast rides she missed as a little girl. Coming up I have a quiet, relaxing trip planned for just the two of us. And I have so many more years yet to plan for. To me, that's the value of DVC.

Exactly. We bought DVC when I figured out how much the hotel rooms were for the trips I'd been paying for even with discount rates using my AP. DH and I knew we loved Disney and would continue to vacation there at least once each year. We started out with 150 points and now we are up to 655 points! That's because it is so easy to add extra vacations (now going 3 times each year) as well as add people to the trips. We love bringing family with us. All those additional trips and the added expense of bringing relatives (we always pay for all the meals at the TS restaurants as well as many times the airfare, tickets, car rental, etc. for the relatives) means we are spending MUCH more than we would have had we never bought DVC. But we are having much more fun, too, as we enjoy the time with our families.

DH and I joke that it all starts with that first AP. Once you get that to be able to get room discounts and the TIW card, it is SO easy to keep adding trips to your schedule each year. The next thing you know, you're a candidate for DVC ownership. Then you REALLY start spending money on the extra trips with extra people!

 

[Crystal_27]

We started going to Disney in 2007 (our DD was 3). Prior to 2007, DH and I had been once for our 1st anniversary in 1998. We loved it but, since we live across the country from our families, we always felt compelled to use our vacation time to see family instead of doing what we wanted to do for vacations. Well, when we went in 2007 (our first vacation with just DH and DD), we fell (back) in love with Disney and decided that traveling to see family really was over-rated (and, I don't mean that in a bad way; we just realized how important time with just us was too) and DH and I needed to concentrate on vacations with just ourselves and our DD. For that trip in 2007, we stayed at the Poly and loved not only the theming, but the convenience of the monorail. Fast forward to 2008 - we booked the Poly again for a 9 night stay and, again, had a wonderful time. It was then and there that we decided that going to Disney was going to be a yearly thing for us. So, as we were planning our 2009 trip, I stumbled across the DVC boards and really started researching it as an actual reality (we had researched it a little bit in 2007 after we came back but I just didn't understand the mechanics of the program so I didn't see how there was any cost-saving). In 2009, BLT was still being built and we realized that, since it was on the monorail, it would be the resort that we wanted. So, we ran the numbers and realized how ideal DVC would be for us. And, during our March, 2009 trip, we bought in and haven't looked back since.

 

[crisi]

For us too, its a good value - in terms of vacation time and vacation quality (kids in seperate bedroom on vacation is very pleasant), but we also don't save money. We've paid for more people's stay with DVC than we ever would have without it. Without a room bill, we go to Cirque. We go to Disney more often than we might otherwise (and we don't go often).

And if I were making the decision today, we wouldn't do it. I'd rent a condo offsite when we wanted to go. Its been a good deal for us, and I'm glad we did it when we did it, but I wouldn't make the same decision today.

 

[gkrykewy]

The construction of AKV made it a slam dunk for us, since we always found ourselves booking savanna view rooms at AKL. That's an expensive proposition, and so shifting to savanna view studios was such a joy. The fact that in just the first three years, we've already been able to book at other pricey places we always meant to try (contemporary, grand californian) is also a wonderful bonus.

 

[paminpa]

We bought when our kids were 3 and 8- we have had a great Disney vacation every year(sometimes more than 1 per year). Almost 17 years later-we are now taking our daughters and their boyfriends- everyone still loves it!
We could also sell our points today for the same price we paid for them- not that I ever would but it's nice to know they hold their value!

 

[tikilyn]

How did we decide it dvc is worth the money? Easy answer for us is "we haven't". What it boils down to for us is that we have been to Disney every year since 2004 and have stayed in a Value everytime except for one year. That year stayed at a Mod (CBR). But for us (family of 4, mom, dad, dd and a ds) it only makes sense that we will out grow the values and mods one day and soon. We will be making the move to staying at delux resort sooner rather than later. We'll need the space as the kids get older and more bathrooms.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that in the end we will still be spending money for the delux and just prepaying it makes like easier for us in the end. It will most likily take us years to break even and that's ok with us. We are planning only going every other year anyways and that affords us larger accomidations.

Gesh! I don't think I even make sense with this post. Hopefully you get what I'm saying. LOL

 

[ToddyLu]

My first trip to WDW was in 2002 at the young age of 32. DH and been once for his 12th Bday in 1976 and stayed at the CR with family. I always wanted my parents to take my brother and I and it was never in the budget. That was OK and we still had wonderful family trips. DH took me for our 8th wedding anniversary. I was the 32 year old that rounded the corner in front of the castle and nearly tore his arm off jumping up and down with the whole" OMG it's the real castle bit". I was instantly hooked and got it. We both work full time and after that first trip made it our annual 2 person trip. We always stayed Values except for one trip when MIL paid for our stay in POFQ. That was very nice and DH and I could see the differnce in accomodations then.

Well I got a new job and increased my income in 2008. I found the DIS in 2008 and the DVC forum soon after. I statred reading. I think we had always wanted to stay at AKL but knew it was out of our price range. Then one day someone posted the new "incentives" for AKV last June. We could get a discount per point and then more money off per point with a referral. Well I had the referral. I didnt care where we bought I just wanted to own a piece of Disney. That sounds stupid but it brings me such joy and we look so forward to the trips we share.

I was set to purchase SSR due to cost but DH said "No!"

He said, "It has to be AKV"

I always wondered how we could ever afford to stay for our 9-10 night stays in a Deluxe resort--now we do. I cant tell you how much it changed the way we "do " Disney. Our first trip we stayed in 2 SV studios at AKV on points which would have cost $7000 total just for the rooms. Have the same accomodations this DEC. So already another $7000. I am now up to $14000 cash in rooms and have only owned 1 full year. Our trips are still magical but the walk to the gate is soooooo much shorter.

 

[walkdmc]

Before DVC, we stayed at CSR and ASSp. Then, we stayed at the Poly, and loved the larger room. Then, we stayed at BLT, on cash, and were hooked. The larger rooms, washer/dryer in the room, kitchenette did us in. Plus, we spent more in one year (two trips) to WDW than it cost us to buy 160 BLT points. And, I know I did the right thing because we just booked 2 WDW trips and it felt fantastic not having to put a deposit down, actually felt a little weird, in a good way. We've added on to our original points and have no regrets.

We do well in our careers and sponsor an annual big family vacation every year. We usually rent a beach house and invite everyone along. I really look forward to using our DVC points for a Grand Villa one Summer and having everyone along.

That said, we paid cash for our DVC contracts. I wouldn't finance them. We've never financed vacations. That's obviously a personal decision but that did factor in to our decision to buy "Can we afford to pay cash for it?".

BTW, if you enjoy moderates and don't feel the need to prepare a meal every so often, or do laundry while at WDW, DVC might not be a smart move for you. I think you have to prefer Deluxes and all the DVC amenities to make it worthwhile.

 

[Queen Mammaw]

We purchased 150 points in 2000 with another couple. We paid $4500 for our half. We have gone for at least 5 nights every year. We also purchased AP a couple of times and went to Disney 2 times in a 12 month period. As a DVC member you get a discount on the AP's.

We have stayed at BWV, BCV, VWL, and AKV. We would never have been able to afford to stay at these places if we werenot DVC members.

I feel it is an investment and it has more than paid for itself!

However I would not buy if I had to finance it!!!

 

[seelyt2]

In addition to all the great posts here, my hubby, who pays the bigger bills in the house figured that once the braces on our then 12 year-old son were paid for, the payments would just go to DVD instead. We waited 6 months and switched out when the braces were paid for.

It's been so much fun ever since! Our family spends so much fun time looking forward to our upcoming vacations and discussing where we want to go, what we want to do, etc., that it really has added an exciting element to our family life. It may sound corny, but it's a blast to talk and plan - to look forward to our next family vacation, when before we wondered if we would even take one. That was depressing...

 

[KathyK]

On our honeymoon, we paid $3000 in lodging for our stay at GF. We realized that if we paid ~3x what we were paying for our HM, we could go to WDW at least once a year for the next 40 something years.

 

[johnsbelt]

Although I'm not a member yet, but I have run some numbers.

First some background info:
We stayed at the CR this past May (past trips have usually been moderate resorts, except for honeymoon which was Poly and that was 20 yrs ago). I casually mentioned to DW that I would like to buy DVC and that BLT looked nice. She said that if we bought it would be at BLT because she wanted to be on the monorail for all future visits. We went over one afternoon to BLT to see a room and liked what we saw. I had already been over to BWV and SSR earlier in the trip and agreed with her about the monorail.

So, when I got back I plugged a few things into a spreadsheet and used the following for my assumptions:
- Vacation at WDW every other year (we did this years ago prior to my extended underemployment which recently just ended )
- 5 night stays in a studio (Su-Th) (typically the way we travel since we drive). (Bay Lake view = 85 points)
- 50% discount to booking CR.
- 3% annual increase in MF
- 5% increase in cash room rates
- 1.3% interest rate (loss of money sitting at Discover Bank)
- Interest compounded monthly
- Maint fee added to balance in Jan.
- Trip deducted when we normally travel (we love it in Sept & Oct)
- Purchase price of 5600 for 50 pts (what some of the resale contracts were going for at the time).

So you plug all of this in and after 5 trips in the next 9-10 years, I break even! After that, my only costs are MF! I figure our DD(19) would want to use it occasionally so I could come down less often, but more (add-on-itus), or rent a few points.

Now I'm looking at 80 pts since that would be a little better to get the one bedroom. DW says she'd be more than happy in a studio, but I bet she's going to want a 1 Bedroom down the road.

Until looking at the CR as a comparison, I could never make the numbers justify the ownership. The moderates were close, but looking back at what we paid for a moderate in 94, 98, and 01, the 5% increases for cash rates are not unreasonable.

Hope this helps,
John

 

[mdsd8700]

Every single person here has posted excellent comments and many great things to think about. We have only been members a short time. We just returned from the VGC and have BLT booked for next June. We always stayed deluxe so for us the accomodation choices are equal to what we would always chose. Although the full kitchen/washer & dryer are available cooking and laundry and not for me while on vacation. Although the extra space with the teenage kids was wonderful. For us it wasn't so much about the value or when we would break even. It was simply about our love of Disney. We know that we will continue annual trips for our 50 year contact and at some point we will break even with our pre paid accomodations, but there will always be those annual dues. However for us it was all about our kids (or us as grandparents) being able to take their children. It was an "investment" if you can call it that for them. We took many years to take the plunge and were lucky enough to pay cash. Although I know we will need more points in the future but I know we will always be happy that we finally decided to do it. Everyone one needs to get alot of information and take a look at everyone angle to make sure it is right for them. Good Luck.

 

[dzorn]

After two trips with 5 in the room at POR it was about more than just money.

Denise in MI

 

[rentayenta]

We stayed with our good friends who own DVC. With our family of 5, the trundle at the POR would only work so long.

We love Disney and enjoy our vacations there so it makes sense to invest in it. I have become a hotel snob. When pricing out a vacation to the GCV at Disneyland we realized that our 2 bedroom villa for 5 nights would cost almost 1/2 the price of DVC, it was a slam dunk. I like the comforts of home while on vacation and those include a full kitchen, lots of room to move, and a washer/dryer.

 

[brianbyard]

I went round and round about buying in. Just bought BCV resale and can't wait! Not sure how much money I'll be saving (if any), but I know my family will enjoy it for many years.

 

[adminjedi]

we created a spreadsheet considering current cash value (if the money had been invested rather than making the purchase). Here is an example of the calculations:

Initial Purchase Animal
Points bought 100
Cost per point $82.00
Maintainance/pt/yr $4.95
Principle $8200
Term (Yrs) 44
Rate/Yr 5.00%
Payment/mo $38.45
Amort. / year $461.35
Maintainance/yr $495
Cost per year $956.35
Cost/yr/point $9.56
Choice Season Studio / wk $1,298.62
Choice Season Studio / day $185.52
Room type 2 BR Concierge/day $1200
Points/week 350
Amortized cost per night $480.97
Per week $3,366.79

It was evident that if we intended to vacation regularly at WDW, it paid to buy into DVC.
We stay in a 2br for 10-14 days each year. Instead of paying $1200 per night (concierge) we pay thru DVC ownership $480.97 per night.

 

[Sammie]

Every situation is different and as said it's more about value for a specific type of lodging versus savings.

We went for years and were very happy staying in either a moderate or deluxe resort. However as our family dynamics changed we found ourselves needing two moderate rooms or two deluxe rooms.

Since those rooms can not be guaranteed to be connecting and at the time, very few discounts were offered by Disney, we decided DVC was the way to go.

 

[spny]

We love renting DVC points... I'm just not sure it makes sense to buy, when we can rent at $10 a point, and get the dates we want...